Some things about Toronto FC's season are easy to predict: Stefan Frei will keep the team in games they have no business winning, Dwayne DeRosario will have the ball at his feet an awful lot, and Dan Gargan will rip his shirt off if and when he scores a goal. But following the Great Annual Roster Purge (GARP), there are always plenty of personnel variables heading into a TFC season. With the Reds' opener looming, here are five players I'll be trying to keep an eye on in 2011:
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Jacob Peterson: He became a well-worn punching bag for some TFC pundits (including a certain It's Called Football host) during his underwhelming first campaign with Toronto in 2010. But considering that he survived the GARP, Aron Winter and company must see value in him. Indeed, Peterson has said during the pre-season that he's feeling comfortable in the Dutchman's new system, which certainly bodes well (or is complete bullshit; we'll see). He scored Toronto's final league goal at home in 2010 (momentum, baby!) and could be valuable as a wide player.
Besides, as your friend who keeps taking back their idiotic significant other despite multiple transgressions would tell you: Everyone deserves a second chance.
Alan Gordon: I've never made a secret of my affection for that hard-working dope Chad Barrett. In a roundabout way, Gordon was "traded" for Barrett (yes, I know he was actually traded for Nick LaBrocca, but Barrett's now with the Galaxy, where Gordon spent most of his career... though TFC actually acquired him from Chivas USA... whatever, move on) and so I can't help but be fascinated by whether Gordon can fill the spot in my heart vacated by Barrett's departure. And by "the spot in my heart", I mean "a spot in the back of the opponent's net... with the ball... with greater frequency than Barrett."
But his most prolific season in terms of goal-scoring was 2008 when he scored... five. Interestingly, though, he has 15 assists in 108 MLS games, and three of them (a full 20%) came in brief nine-game stint with Chivas at the end of last year. Perhaps a change in uniform brought out something in him? Or perhaps I'm over-analyzing a completely coincidental statistic? We'll soon find out.
Oscar Cordon: This is the space that would have belonged to Nicholas Lindsay, had his affinity for off-season snowmobiling not 86ed his season. And this space could, ultimately, be taken over by the likes of Matt Stinson or Keith Makubuya. But I've picked Cordon as my talisman of the TFC Academy mostly because in my very limited viewing of the Academy in CSL play last season, I noticed a good connection between Cordon and the hero of Canada's run at the CONCACAF U17 tournament last month, Keven Aleman. So when I hear Cordon getting praised, I can't help but think his buddy Keven may not be far behind in ascending the Reds' ranks.
And as a desperate, delusional Canadian fan, I've now pinned my hopes on the future of the senior program on Aleman, based on one nice goal he scored on some dusty pitch in Montego Bay. But hey, gotta cling to something.
Nana Attakora: Odd choice, I know, considering we've had more time to keep an eye on him in a TFC uniform that anyone else in the history of the universe (true, y'know). But this will be a defining season for the 21-year-old centre-back's career. Given Adrian Cann's shenanigans (I mean, walkout? Seriously? Around here, it's "cheque-signing motion" or nothin', fella), I imagine young Nana (can we call him that anymore?) will be considered the linchpin of the defence by Winter and co.
And if he's ever going to attract interest from a league beyond MLS (which overly-optimistic Canadian fans have been predicting for years) and establish himself with the senior national team (he's failed to wriggle his way in thus far, but he can always show a clip of Adam Straith's cock-up against Greece and say "hey, at least I didn't do that!"), 2011 will probably be the year in which he'll do it.
Gianluca Zavarise: Yeah, homer pick here, so what. I'm Canadian, and it's good to see Canadians get a chance. You can say that too, y'know. No shame necessary, no apologies. After being one of Stephen Hart's "who?" call-ups to the men's national team last year (along with luminaries such as Massih Wassey), Zavarise found the back of the net for TFC this pre-season, and evidently impressed Winter enough to get a spot on the squad.
I could lie and say I have some in-depth knowledge of how well he'll link up with current teammates, based on his performance in years past at AC Belluno 1905. But I won't. He's Canadian, he's a largely unknown quantity, and that's enough for me to be utterly fascinated by what he may have to offer to the team.
But that's just my opinion. What do you think?